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Hera Cruise – more ferry than luxury cruise…
Pros
The food was genuinely excellent—high quality, well executed, and very plentiful (almost to the point of feeling wasteful).
The bed was very comfortable.
There are lots of organised activities, but you’re not forced to take part (although see note below if you stay onboard).
Staff were friendly and helpful throughout.
The scenery is undeniably beautiful—though don’t underestimate how busy it is. One evening I counted around 35 boats surrounding us.
Cons
If you book the shared limo transfer, be aware it includes a stop at a bamboo and silk sales pitch. We were picked up at 7:45 and by 8:45 were watching a demonstration on scarf-making. It felt uncomfortable and a bit scammy.
More broadly, the booking company felt inefficient and not particularly friendly. Communication was poor, and there was a general sense that many aspects were designed to extract extra money, with little transparency.
Dining felt cramped. Despite the boat not being full, tables were placed so close together that it felt like dining with strangers. I raised this, but nothing changed.
We chose to stay on the boat one day to relax, expecting peace and quiet. Instead, cleaners played loud music over the speakers for hours and shouted across the boat. At another point, a boat docked beside us for refuelling and blasted loud techno music right outside our cabin for around 30 minutes. While not entirely the cruise’s fault, better management would be expected from anything marketed as “luxury.”
The boat itself is very dated—peeling paint, exposed nails, rust, limescale, and general wear and tear. It needs a proper refresh.
No drinks are included beyond two small bottles of water on arrival. Everything else is chargeable, which feels restrictive given you’re stuck onboard. While this is stated מראש, it still feels disappointing at this price point—basic water or coffee with meals would go a long way.
Activities may be optional, but they’re loudly announced over the tannoy from 7am, followed by music from 7:30. Staff noise (dragging chairs, moving around) starts even earlier, so a lie-in isn’t really possible.
The final straw was being woken at 7:30 by loud techno music. It just felt unnecessary and at odds with any idea of “luxury.”
Overall
This isn’t luxury. It was nice, but at £200 a night it didn’t deliver value. Given how far that money should go in Vietnam, expectations were much higher.
I suspect many of these issues are common across boats in Ha Long Bay, which feels overcrowded and a victim of its own popularity—boats everywhere, even at night, making it hard to fully enjoy the scenery. That said, there are likely better options in less congested areas.
